Wednesday, 30 October 2013

As if I wasn't excited enough with Christmas lurking just around the corner, I have been chatting with the Lovely Tia who writes the Bellezza Babe blog (seriously, if you get a chance then check out her blog, it is awesome!) and we have decided to do a Christmas Box Swap.

We have set a budget of £30 and the swap will take place before Christmas Eve. I am so excited and have a few ideas for the box already.

Anyone who knows me knows I love presents, so I can't wait to see what loveliness is inside the box. I just want Christmas to hurry up because I am not patient when it comes to presents, I'm the type of person who rips the wrapping paper of with gale force speed, there is no saving of the wrapping paper when I'm around!

If anyone has done a box swap like this before and has any tips or ideas for the contents I would love to hear them.

Well its reached that time of the month again where I share with you all a few things that I have been craving recently.

I have to admit that this months wants have been quite heavily influenced by seeing what other bloggers have bought! Stacey from Expat Make-Up Addict I'm looking at you!

First up is the Hour Glass Ambient lighting palette, this little beauty is limited edition and contains three of the highly rated and raved about Hour Glass ambient light finishing powders. It has two of the existing shades Dim Light and Radiant Light and the new limited edition shade Incandescent Light. I think this trio is perfect if you want to try the powders out and I love the different options it gives you making it very versatile. It also comes with a mini of the veil mineral primer adding to my justification of purchase! I have a feeling this will be in my shopping basket come pay day!

"For use with fluid and cream foundations, the DIOR Full Coverage Fluid
Foundation Brush has innovative fibres combining synthetic
responsiveness with natural softness. Both layered and sharpened, these
fibres help blend the foundation for fast, easy application. The brush
head is denser and beveled in order to blend in a greater quantity of
foundation and obtain a high coverage yet totally natural and radiant
finish".

I saw this on Stacey's post 6 brushes to love and it looks like it will be right up my street! I like to have a good coverage on my foundation as I don't have the best skin so this ticks all my boxes!

Something else I have had my eye on is the REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask. This is another much blogger loved product that I can only seem to find good reviews on. It is meant to leave your skin glowing and refreshed which is something I could do with especially with winter drawing in, so I think this would make a great addition to my little skincare stash.

Mac are releasing the Divine Night collection on the 7th of November and I have my eye on two of the Lipsticks in the collection Flair for Finery which is a cool pink nude in a lustre finish and Private Party a dirty plum mauve in a satin finish.

Both of these Mac shades are lovely in the pictures I have seen and swatches on the internet but I will be swatching myself to make sure they suit my colouring before purchase (although I am always suckered in by the pretty limited edition packaging, so there is every chance I could end up buying online before swatching, oops!)

I have also been looking at these beautiful earrings from Bouton. I love the jewellery they have on their site especially the charm bracelets, I never really clicked with Pandora but I like the Bouton ones. I think the button detail is very cute and individual and I just like the feel of the brand, it has an air of class about it.

My final crave this month has been for a DSLR Camera. I've had my eye on the Canon EOS 1100D from Amazon it has a really good price and has good reviews as far as I can see, so I shall be dropping some major hints to my Mr for this to make its way into my hands! Phil if you are by any chance reading this you know what time of year is just around the corner and I have been a very good girl this year, hint hint!

Well that's it for this months craves, please let me know if you have any of these products or if you are thinking of getting any of them?

Please also let me know if you have any suggestions for a DSLR or if you have this one and what you think of it.

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

I hope your weeks are all going well, don't worry it will be the weekend again soon!

So I have a slight confession to make, after my payday haul.... I went shopping again! Its an addiction I tell you, I like shopping far to much!

My first port of call was Boots to get a few of the new Barry M Matte Nail Polishes. I was able to get Vanilla, Mocha and Crush. While I was at the stand, one of the Barry M textured effect polishes, Princess, jumped into my basket along with the Crystal Glaze top coat, oops!

Next I had a quick look at the Revlon stand as I wanted to get a couple of the new cream eyeshadows I have been seeing raved about all over the blogosphere. Unfortunately the Boots I went to didn't have them in stock yet, this left me very unhappy, so to cheer myself up I picked up another glittery top coat, Revlon Heavenly.

For my next impulse buy I picked up some of the Boots Botanics facial oil this is 100% organic and counts rosehip oil as an ingredient, which I know my skin likes and at under £10 is a bit of a bargain in my books! (I have been using this for the past few days and really like it, well worth picking up if you get the chance!)

Now, I really was on my way to the till when I was pulled against my will over to the Soap & Glory stand. Where I subsequently talked myself into buying the One Heck of a Blot Mattifiying Translucent powder. I have heard good things about this, Stacey from Expat Make-Up Addict rated the Soap & Glory powder above the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder that I had been using, so thought I should give it ago (if you haven't checked out Stacey's blog yet you should its fab and she has a make up collection I can only aspire to!).

Next I had a quick peek in Paperchase, I have been wanting to pick up a cute note book for my blogging ideas. I use Evernote on my Iphone & Ipad but I wanted an actual book where I can jot down any post ideas or products I want to buy for review when I think of them. When I saw this one it was perfect the colours match my blog theme and the girl on the front reminds me a little bit of me so I grabbed it along with a pen that had a similar illustration on it.

As usual just as I was about to pay I saw the cute phone case that I couldn't leave in the shop, so it came home with me to live happily ever after!

Finally I made a cheeky little order from Origins when I got home. They had an offer where if you made a purchase and used a special offer code you would get a 30ml sample of the High Potency Night A Mins moisturiser I have been keeping my eye out for another Night moisturiser as my Elemis will be running out soon so this seemed a perfect way to try something out without making a costly mistake. Thank you Origins.

I picked the Face wash Checks and Balances which was £8 and the rest was free which also included the shipping which even though said it would be 2-5 days ended up being next day! I love that you get extra samples as a standard from Origins as I really like to try before I buy especially when it comes to serums as you end up spending so much on them that it can be a waste if you have a reaction to them or you just don't like the feel of them.

Anyway that's my mini mid month haul. Do you have little splurges when you really shouldn't? Please leave a comment I would love to hear your thoughts.

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

As I have mentioned previously, I'm engaged to be married to a very wonderful and understanding man, so I thought I would do a quick post on how I was proposed to and my beautiful ring.

I'm quite lucky that my other half, Phil, is the type of guy you can speak to about anything and he wont get scared and run a mile. He has two children, (who are amazing by the way), from a previous relationship and because of this and the type of guy he is I think this has made him more open to speaking about the 'future'. So prior to the proposal we had the chat about the future and what we both wanted from it and marriage was discussed.

We decided that we wanted to get married and that we would choose the ring together (more like I'm a fussy bugger so he wanted to make sure it was perfect!). We (I) spent hours on the Internet looking for rings that fell within the budget he had set. I was determined that I wanted something that was a bit different from the traditional solitaire and I wanted something that I wouldn't be likely to see on someone else's finger! Eventually I fell in love with a ring I saw on Diamond Heaven. It was beautiful and exactly the kind of style I wanted (Art Deco-ish but with a modern twist)

So we booked and appointment and made the trek to the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham to visit their shop.When we arrived we couldn't fault the staff, they were friendly, very helpful and had a good knowledge of their diamonds (I'm lucky that my Dad used to be a Jeweller so I knew all about the 4 C's).

Going to the shop was the best decision we made. It meant we could see exactly the size of the stone that we would get, where as on the website they tend to use one picture of a huge stone for all previews of the different styles.

Because we went to the shop it allowed us to get a really good look at the ring setting and see it on my finger to make sure it felt right! We were able to pick the exact stone we wanted and managed to get a really good price for what it was (another reason to go to the store, for a little haggle).

The price we came to was a little higher than the original budget that we had set so after taking the other half aside and pulling a wide variety of needy faces and lots of smiling (Phil says I pull this face where I smile at him and he cant resist to say no to me, the silly boy shouldn't have told me this, consequently he sees it a lot when we go shopping!) he agreed that I could have that ring. I was so happy I had to contain myself from doing a little dance in the shop.

They then had to send the stone away to have the setting specially made, we were told this would take about 6 weeks so Phil said he would surprise me with the proposal once he received the ring. Judging on how he told me he loved me for the first time and how he asked me to move in with him I knew it was going to be pretty special, luckily for me he is a complete romantic!

Let me just say first off these were the longest 6 weeks of my life to date. Oh my Goodness, I don't know how I managed to keep it together he was constantly on his laptop 'planning' and keeping secrets from me! I'm not really a person who likes suprise's, I prefer to know its going to happen and to look forward to it plus I am really impatient!

Finally the day came, and we were are home with the kids. I was oblivious to the goings on. I was upstairs with his daughter Rosie talking about make up (which I have since learned was a distraction!) and Phil and Zach were scheming downstairs.

Zach came up and asked me to come downstairs but to wait outside the door to the front room and close my eyes (I had a suspicion that something was afoot but still hadn't twigged).

I heard the door open and Phil told me to keep my eyes closed whilst he guided me to sit down on the sofa. He then told me to open my eyes when I did I saw the front room covered in beautiful candles and rose petals and then TV kicked into life.

The only way to describe what followed is a video diary of how we met and fell in love and the story of our life so far all set to the music of Ed Sheeran's Kiss Me. (I was in floods of tears from the start, because it was perfect and having the kids there, although they are not mine, meant a lot to me as we are a family)

The climax of the video was the best, he had got my closest friends to take separate pictures of themselves each holding a different word to spell out 'Heather', 'will', 'you', 'marry' and finally he was holding 'me' with the last picture being the kids holding a homemade signs that said 'Say Yes'

He then got down one knee and opened the ring box to reveal the most beautiful sparkling ring and proposed.

And of course I said Yes!

Do you have a romantic proposal story? I would love to hear it please leave a comment and let me know!
Heather xx

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Today I thought I would do a quick post about where I source my cans of La Roche-Posay Serozinc from, as I know that this isn't as readily available here in the UK, as many of us would like it to be. I think I have found a solution that doesn't involve moving to France.

La Roche-Posay Serozinc is what I use in the moisturising toner stage of my skincare routine and has become a staple within that routine that I cant see myself changing any time soon.

I have been using it for over four months now and I really feel it has made a big improvement to my skin, most especially in my chin area where I seem to get a lot of spots.These have significantly reduced in number and frequency since I began using this product.

Now, admittedly I did overhaul my skincare routine at the same time, which I know has also contributed to its improvement, but I feel that this stage in particular has made a big impact.

The active ingredients in Serozinc are Water, Sodium Chloride and Zinc Sulfate, which you might think would not make a difference to your skin, but Serozinc seems to reduce my redness and calm painful spots down in a record time (for me anyway!).

When I first head about it I decided nothing else would do and I had to have it. As I previously mentioned it can be a bit of a struggle to get this in the UK but after some digging I was able to find a company called Cocooncenter who stock it and will deliver to the UK.

I have now ordered through them twice and am very impressed with the range of products they offer (a lot of the french pharmacy lines that are a struggle to get over here) and the swiftness of their delivery.

They send regular emails to keep you updated on the progress of your order and on an important note it has also never been out of stock when I have looked.

I made my last order in the evening on the 30/09/2013 and it was with me by the 03/10/13 which is an excellent turnaround especially as I choose the standard and not expedited shipping option.

The price is also very reasonable I paid €6.50 per can and then €9.90 for the shipping, I ordered four cans and I think this came to around the £30 mark. I am more than happy to pay this, but think it is definitely worth getting a few at a time to make the shipping worth it.

Something else offered by the Cocooncenter is that they have a loyalty bonus with each purchase that can be either saved or deducted from you next order. I used mine to take about 50p of my order cost.

Please do go have a browse and let me know what you think, I have linked the direct page to the Serozinc here

Heather xx

*This is NOT a sponsored post and I have not been paid or in any way asked to review this, all opinions and experiences are my own*

Monday, 14 October 2013

Its Monday again and for a lot of us its the first day of the working week, I hope it went quickly for you all!

With Halloween fast approaching, I thought I would do a quick post and share with you a little tip I have discovered for creating a scars/vampire bites and wound effects etc.

To get the look you will need the following

A Brown eyeliner pencil

A Purple eyeliner pencil

PVA glue

Fake Blood

Concealer/Foundation

An old small paintbrush

I apologise for the hairiness on the picture but I used my other half as a model, although he wasn't very helpful and kept moving!

For this example I am going to do a puncture, but you can make it any shape it can be a gash or anything your imagination can come up with really.

Firstly pick the area you want the put the puncture and make a mark with the purple eyeliner roughly to the size of the blood effect you want.

Then with the brown eyeliner and the purple, trace the veins that come away from the blotch very gently.

Once you have done this you move on to the PVA glue. Apply it with the paintbrush so that you have created a shape around the eyeliner. Do one coat then wait for it to dry then apply a second coat.

Once the glue has dried you need to then use the concealer to cover the PVA glue and then blend this out a bit so it looks like it is a raised bit of skin (my other half's skin is a bit sallower than mine but if you are using your own concealer you should get a pretty good match)

Once the concealer has dried you then dab the fake blood into the puncture you have made. (I didn't have any fake blood so I improvised and it doesn't look dark enough but you get the idea)

Finally if you want to you can use the fake blood to make it look like there are drips of blood coming from the wound.

I hope this was easy to follow and I would love to hear if you have any tips for creating good Halloween makeup.

The other week was pay day for me so off I went to spend spend spend! I had a great girly day out with one of my friends who is also a beauty addict like me so I think we kind of encouraged each other a bit, hence me going a bit crazy, oops!

I apologise for the camera quality in advance, I've been hinting to the Mr that I want a DSLR but he's produced nothing so far (huff!) note to self to step that one up!

Heres the haul :-

Starting from the top we have a Smashbox Try It Kit of their best sellers and a Smashbox Brow Tech To Go in brunette.

The Try It Kit contains the following:-

Photo Finish Foundation Primer

Photo Finish Lid Primer

Limitless Eye Liner in Onyx

Full Exposure Mascara in Jet Black

Lip Enhancing Gloss in Illume

Here is what it looks like when you get the goodies out of the box :-

These are my first Smashbox products, Miss Budget Beauty raves about the Brow Tech To Go so I went in to Boots with the intention of getting that. However, when I went there was a points deal on if you bought two Smashbox items (I am such a sucker for a Boots point deal!) so I picked up the try it kit as I thought it would give me a good overview of the range. I have used the Brow Tech To Go and I really rate it and its already on my re purchase list for when it runs out.

I have been reading good things about the Oribe Texturising Spray which I have been wanting to get but couldn't justify the cost. I have been looking for cheaper alternatives and the Bumble and Bumble Thickening Dryspun Finish has been blogged about a lot recently as being a good dupe so I thought I would try it out.

With my purchase I was luckily enough to get free samples of the Thickening Hairspray and the Straight Blow Dry Serum. I am looking forward to giving those a go but secretly hoping I don't like them as otherwise that's more money to be spent!

Then we come to what is a regular seasonal purchase for me, I love this little set and used my Boots Points after Christmas shopping last year to purchase this so when I saw it again I snatched it up! :-

The pack contains :-

Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara

Bi-Facil

Mini Crayon - Khol Noir

This is a great purchase for me as I love the Doll eyes mascara so it is something I would buy anyway so the added eye make up remover and eyeliner are a great extra, the Bi-Facil is really good at removing heavy eye make up and the size is perfect for when I go away.

While walking past the YSL Counter my eye was caught by the new Rebel Nude Glossy Stains, after a swatch or four I decided on number 107 Naughty Mauve. It was a hard decision as there were a few I liked but this one in particular had a slight duo chrome effect which really appealed to me. It's a lovely day to day wearable shade and the formulation on the Glossy Stains is really lovely and very long lasting I will definitely be going back to add a few more to my collection :-

Below the Glossy stain on the haul picture there are a couple of Urban Decay samples that I was lucky enough to be given. The card holds four samples of their new Revolution Lipsticks in shades F-Bomb,Naked,Obsessed and Anarchy there was also a travel size 24/7 glide on Lip Pencil in Naked. This is such a good sample and I am excited to give these a go before most likely picking one up.

As usual whilst out shopping the Mac counter called out my name and lured me in with the new Rhianna collection. Some would say it was fate, but this trip was cleverly planned! It was a good job I went to the store as last time I don't think my Mr was too happy when I hijacked his day and asked him nicely (told him) to sit at the computer all day from the release time and spend his hard earned pennies on securing me goodies from the last release.

He managed to get me the the RiRi Woo Lipstick and the Hibiscus Kiss blusher and bronzer duo. So this time I went for:-

From left to right:-

'Nude' Matte Lipstick

'Diamonds' Cream Colour Base

'RiRi Woo' Lipglass Lip Gloss

The RiRi Woo Lip gloss matches the lipstick that the Mr kindly purchased for me and as the RiRi Woo
Lipstick is a Matte this gives it a different dimension and a lovely shine.

The Diamonds cream colour base is a lovely sheeny champagne colour and is perfect as a highlighter or as a cream eyeshadow I will get a lot of use from this as it is very versatile.

I was initially unsure about the Nude lipstick as it looked quite dark and looks like it would be more suited to a deeper skin tone than mine however after speaking to one of the girls at my local counter she layered it over a pinkish lip liner (Hip N Happy if you are interested) and put a peachy/pink gloss over the top which morphed it into a perfect classic nude lip.

I also picked up a pro pan 'Star Violet' eye shadow to add to my pro palette, I have slowly built up my palette and now only have one space to fill. I am very excited to pick up my last shade but am unsure of what I should get so any suggestions are welcome.

Below the Mac is a little (well little-ish!) Nars haul. This is another brand that I have not really tried before but I have heard so many positive reviews that I had to get a few bits :-

So we have from left to right :-

'Andy Warhol' Larger Than Life Lip Gloss in Candy Says

Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Train Bleu

Sheer Glow Foundation in Mount Blanc

2 samples of the Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser in Finland and Groenland

I got the Lip gloss to go with the Nude lipstick from Mac (obviously I was completely ignoring the fact I have plenty of lip glosses at home), its a beautiful peachy pink shimmery colour and really works well with the Nude Lipstick and is just as good on its own.

The Velvet Matte lip pencil was picked up as part of my new Autumn dark lip kick it is a very dark blueish purple. It is very vampy on, I like it a lot! I will say that your lips need to be in good condition and well moisturised to get the best effect as it can cling to dry patches, I really like the formula on the Velvet Matte pencils and I will be getting a few more soon.

Lastly I picked up the much reviewed and adored Nars Sheer Glow foundation. I wont say too much about this as I will be posting a review of my own soon, but I will say that I really rate this and its gives my skin a great finish, it has even been enough to tempt me away from my beloved YSL Teint Touche Eclat which is saying something indeed. I was also given a couple of samples of the Tinted moisturiser to have a play with which was really nice of them.

Finally I was able to get a quite a few samples including the new YSL Youth Liberator and the Giorgio Armani Maestro Foundations. I was also able to get a sample of the Laura Mercier Primer and one of the new Clinique ones.

Well thank you for staying with me and reading what has turned into a huge post, sorry about that! Have I picked up anything you would like a more detailed review on or is a must have in your own collections? Please let me know of any hints or tips you have to get the best use out of it, if so I always love hearing from you guys!.

Tuesday, 8 October 2013

First off please accept my apologies for the lack of posts in the past week. I have been a super busy monkey with work and family commitments but I am now back and itching to blog!

I have a few posts planned this week so I hope I don't overload you!

Last week the lovely Louise over at Lou Loves Beauty tagged me to do my first ever tag!

This one is right up my street to as I do love a bit of skincare, it has become a necessity since I have got older and we all know we only get one skin so we may as well look after it! Please do pop over and see what Louise had to say, I have linked her post here.

I have to say this is a condensed version than I would usually use to describe it, but I was only allowed 5 words!

What's your skin type?

I have combination skin I think, it gets oilier on my T-Zone but I can get dry patches just above my eyebrows in winter. I also get quite bad spots around my chin area which can really get me down.

Top Blemish Zapper?

I used to use the Origins Super Spot remover which is really good and does do a fab job of bringing down redness and drying the spot out.

More recently though I have been just making sure I cleanse really well and then I have been giving the general area of the spot a gentle rub with some Trilogy Rose Hip Oil. I think this is working well for me as I tend to get the under the skin 'no-head' painful spots rather than ones with heads and the oil nourishes the skin rather than drying it out.

Face Wipes Yay or Nay?
These are a definite nay for me, I have previously mentioned in my Evening Skincare Routine post the hilarious quote by the skincare maven that is Caroline Hirons regarding face wipes and their purpose in life and I have to admit that since I have stopped using them to cleanse my skin has improved by leaps and bounds. So just say no to face wipes!

Toner Yay or Nay?

I am firmly in the toning camp, I use an exfoliating toner now. Before that I used to use the Lush Tea Tree toner in an attempt to curtail spots and it did an ok job. However my skins texture and the frequency of break outs has really diminished since I began using an exfoliating toner. I have tried a few but I am using the Pixi Glow Tonic at the moment and I really cant sing its praises high enough.High End Skincare or High Street Make Up

This is a easy question for me as I love my higher end skincare (and make up) and don't really use that much high street make up. Also I believe that if you start with a good canvas i.e the skin on your face, then your make up will look far better and in the long run you wont feel that you have to use as much to get the effect you want.

Whats the most unusual skin care product you have used?

Hmm this is a hard one I would have to say for me it would be the Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Face Mask, as I have been used to clay style masks as a rule. This felt like I was putting jam on my face that tingled, I don't regret it though as it is a great treatment and leaves my skin glowing and its well worth the price tag!

Whats your top Skincare tip?

My top tip would be to have a routine and to try and stick to it. Your skin is an organ and it needs to be taken care of the same way you would care for your heart. If you keep it clean and listen to its needs then its should work as its supposed to! Obviously its helped by drinking plenty of water and not eating food that is high in fats and sugars, but hey I know its not easy, I for one am not someone who can say no to pizza easily!

Sunday, 29 September 2013

I can't believe its Sunday night again! Oh how the time fly's when you are having fun!

When I was in Debenhams the other day I managed to have a sneaky stop at the Mac counter. This is something that I never seem to be able to avoid and I always seem to walk away with one of their black bags, clutched in my eager hands!

On this occasion I feel no guilt though, as I was actually being good and recycling, honest! As I am sure you know Mac do 'Back To Mac', this is where you can take 6 empty Mac containers i.e. Blusher, Eyeshadow or lipstick, hand them in and you can select a new lipstick (at Mac stores I think you get to choose between a lipstick, an eyeshadow or a lip glass, but I'm pretty sure if it's a concession you can only get lipstick).

I have recently bought two pro palettes and had a major de-potting session with my eye shadows and blushers which left me with enough containers for two new lipsticks. Now as they were in my mind 'free' I decided to be a bit more adventurous than I would normally be.

In my Monthly Crave post I said I said I have been lusting after New York Apple and Odyssey. Unfortunately Odyssey wasn't in stock so I had to pick another (I was prepared in case this happened and wanted 'So Chaud' but this wasn't in stock either! Annoying much!) After some searching and swatching I settled on Diva.

New York Apple, as I said was on my monthly crave wish list. Its a frost finish and is described as a muted red with a pink shimmer. The shimmer makes the lipstick look shiny, which makes the little voice in my head that tells me I should put glitter on everything in sight happy!

I gave it a swatch in the store and it was love at first swatch! Although it does have a definite shimmer to it, I don't think its overly frosty and it feels almost like a cremesheen to me! This is one of only a couple of frost finish lipsticks I own and thankfully its not a regret.

On my fairly pinkish lips it comes over as a lovely raspberry red and is quite glossy and sheer. The only down side to this lipstick is that it does seem to bleed quite quickly so I will need to pick up a lip liner to compliment it and to put a stop to any feathering. But apart from that its one I can see myself reaching for a lot over the next coming months.

Diva is a deep red matte finish lipstick. Its a bold colour and the deep red reminds me of mulled wine at Christmas (only 86 days away *slightly excited/worried face!*).

When I swatched it, it was so pigmented and rich that I had to get it. Diva is quite a change from the colours I would usually wear. I don't normally go for such dark bold colours but I think this is actually what persuaded me to get it, as I am trying to get out of my comfort zone and wear new lipstick shades.

This also seems like it will require a lip liner to stop it feathering (Another trip to Mac! Like I need an excuse!) On my lips it comes up a very deep berry red and I think will be perfect for the autumn/winter months that are rapidly approaching us.

Well that's my little 'Back to Mac' haul for you!

What's your view on these shades? Are they favourites of yours? (if so I would love some suggestions for Lip liners) Please leave a comment I would love to hear your opinions.

Friday, 27 September 2013

This week seems to have gone so quickly! I was very excited little make up addict yesterday, as last night I was lucky enough to be invited to a preview of the new Benefit Christmas gift sets at my local Debenhams.
(Please be warned now this is a picture heavy post!)

We arrived a bit early so had a wander round the Beauty Hall which was full of temptations as not only did they have 10% off all beauty and fragrance but its was triple points too!

Once we had managed to drag ourselves away we were taken to the little cafe upstairs where they had set everything out so we could have a look and a play. They had some delicious Apple and Cranberry sparkling juice for us to drink and jars full of Maoam dotted around for nibbling.

The lovely Benebabes Libby and Louise then gave a short presentation where they talked about what sets were being launched. We then got to get a closer look at what each set contained.

This years gift sets are some of the best I have seen. The ones that really stood out to me were the ones that came in tins. There are four large tins, one of the features I really liked about these is that they are all stackable so will make great storage solutions. All the stickers on them are all easy peel off and the tin designs and colours are very eye catching and pop art like (I have my eye on one already "It's a love fest!" You will be mine!).

I scoped out which ones had what in just for you, my lovely readers. If you click on the links it will take you to the Debenhams website where there is a 10% discount on at the moment :-

As well as the four large tins they are also doing two small tins with make up kits inside. These kits will make great gifts as again once you have finished with the products you will have a little keepsake tin rather than an empty cardboard container. They are:-

This was my favourite and the one that managed to make me part with some cash even though I told myself I was only going to look! I just have no will power when it comes to pretty make up's!

I had a really lovely time, the Benebabes were very knowledgeable about the products and were just all round nice girls! There were definitely a few more bits that I may have to drop some hints for around Christmas!
We were even given little mini goody bags so we could trial a couple of the products which I thought was a really nice touch.

I will be posting a review on the palette that I got with some close up pictures and a swatch or two!
Please let me know what you think of the offerings from Benefits Christmas range this year I would love to hear your opinions. Speak to you all again soon!

Tuesday, 24 September 2013

Well as the month is drawing to a close and pay day is fast approaching, I thought I would share with you a few bits that I have been lusting after and may possibly be treating myself to, if I can justify their necessity!

First up is something I have had my eye on for a little while now, and that is the Nars Fairy Kiss Eyeshadow Palette.
Nars describe it as "An enchanted autumnal vision for eyes. A six-shadow palette of
high-fashion, fanciful hues for an infinite range of artistic effect" I describe it as "ohhh so pretty I want"

It has the most beautiful purple shades which is one of my favourite colours. I have only heard good things about the Nars Eye shadows so I think it would be rude of me not to add this to my stash!

Its now officially Autumn or Fall depending on what side of the pond you live on and in the spirit of autumnal shades I feel I should add some berry colours to my lipstick collection. I think these two Mac lovelies would do just the trick.

Mac New York Apple is one of their frost finishes and is a deep raspberry red. It looks like it has a beautiful shimmer to it and I am looking forward to getting to my local Mac counter to give it a swatch.

Another one I shall be swatching to see if I can pull it of is Mac Odyssey this is another of the frost finishes and I have seen it described as a berry wine with good coverage.

I'm not sure why I seem to be wanting the frost finishes all of a sudden as normally I prefer the amplified or matte finish I think it may be that they both have a bit of shine to them and this appealing to my magpie tendencies!

I have been wanting the next item for a few months now, I keep sniffing it whenever I am in the fragrance counters of my local department stores but as yet have restrained myself from buying as I have quite a few perfumes on the go and I should really finish some of them before I buy any more.

My final item is not beauty related and is of more a practical nature as with the season changed my footwear needs a bit of a reboot. I have seen these ones which are both practical and sassy and I can see myself getting a lot of wear from them.

I have even found them for a good price on one of my favourite websites for shoe shopping Shoeaholics

About Me

Hi my name is Heather and I'm an addict, a make up and beauty addict that is!
I am 29 and very happily engaged to a very understanding man, who not only accepts my addiction to all things make up and beauty but on some occasions actively enables it!